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Stencil Question

This seems to be happening more and more. I've imported a grayscale image as a layer and then attempted to "convert layer to stencil" and instead of getting the image as a stencil I just get a big "stencil" box around the image. When I use tools/stencil and load a stencil this doesn't happen.

I guess it really isn't a big deal because I can use the alternative "load a stencil" but the loaded stencil comes in small and has to be fiddly resized to fill the layer whereas making a layer into a stencil would be more efficient.

What are the limitations of turning a layer into a stencil (I can't seem to figure that out)?

Creating a stencil from a layer of paint will always result in a solid shape, unless a tool that can create a gradation effect (like the Airbrush) has been used to add a soft effect or if the canvas grain has separated the color in some manner. This is useful for when one wants to mask an area they've painted. I use this a lot when I do comic book style images, where I first fill in an area with color, create a stencil from it, then create another layer where I add in shadows and highlights without having to worry about the colors going outside of the lines (due to the stencil mask).

When one imports an image specifically as a stencil, ArtRage makes the lighter areas of the image semi-transparent (which doesn't happen when you create a stencil of layer). The color white will be completely empty, leaving anything that's black completely masked off. This is good for making texture or gradation stencils.

Ahhhh. So the "make a stencil from this layer" is used more for masking. And I've used it that way, and didn't even notice what it was actually doing. Okay then, for textury stuff we need to "load a stencil" from the tools/stencil section.